OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian men's basketball team gave Sooner Athletic Conference leader No. 15 Science & Arts a strong challenge, but the Drovers made a late rally to come away with a 73-68 win over the Evangels inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Kendall Scott – 19 Points, 8-12 FG, 3-6 FT, 15 Reb, 2 Blocks
• Quentin Woodson – 12 Points, 4-5 FG, 4-8 FT
• Omar Boone – 10 Points, 3-8 FG, 3-4 FT, 3 Reb, 3 Assists

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • After USAO's Rory Pantophlet and Tony Dorsey traded buckets to start off the game, Science & Arts strung together seven unanswered as a Pantophlet layup gave the Drovers a 9-2 advantage with 16:29 left.
  • Mid-America Christian finally found its offensive momentum on the ensuing possession as an Omar Boone jumper ignited a 10-point surge. An Isaiah Hammons three-point play gave the Evangels the lead before Dorsey came up with a steal and fastbreak layup to extend the edge to 12-9 with just over 14 minutes to go.
  • USAO managed to work it down to a one-point game on a Stephon Hall jumper before the Evangels pushed it out to five at 18-13 off a Woodson layup and a Boone jump-shot with 11:20 remaining.
  • The Drovers worked it back down to one on a Cameron Hines pull-up before Caleb Riggs answered back with a three-pointer from the right wing to push it back out to a 25-21 lead with 8:13 left.
  • Mid-America Christian lost the lead after the Drovers scored the next five off a Pantophlet layup and an Elvin Rodriguez three-point play to make it a 26-25 contest with 6:33 on the clock.
  • A Kendall Scott jumper on the ensuing possession put the Evangels back in-front before a Riggs mid-range jumper set the Evangels' edge to 29-26 with just under six to go.
  • Mid-America Christian went through a 3:30 scoring drought while the Drovers reclaimed the lead with seven unanswered capped off on a Rodriguez free throw 2:37 left to make it a 33-29 USAO lead.
  • Boone ended MACU's drought with a three-pointer at 2:26 mark, but the Drovers again held the Evangels scoreless the rest of the way before taking a 37-32 lead into the break.
• Second Half
  • The Drovers briefly stretched their lead to seven off a pair of Pantophlet free throws to start the half, but the Evangels immediately countered with a 10-2 run. Scott scored six straight points during the surge, giving MACU the lead back at 42-41 on an offensive rebound and put-back with 15:38 to go.
  • A fastbreak layup by Gerard Makuntae briefly put Science & Arts back in-front before the Evangels rallied back with another 10-point surge. Scott hit another jumper to start the run before Hammons finished it off on a fastbreak layup off a Jasiah Lewis dime to make it 52-43 with 12:50 left.
  • Science & Arts scored the next six as a Hines fastbreak pull-up closed it to one-possession game at 52-49 before Woodson pushed it back out to five on a layup with just over 10 minutes remaining.
  • Both teams struggled to score during the next two minutes before a Stephon Hall three tied it up at 54-54 with 8:08 on the clock, but another Woodson answer in transition off a great Hammons pass put MACU back in-front just eight seconds later.
  • Mid-America Christian built its lead back out to six at 63-57 off a Toni Kumanovic three and Scott free throw with 5:21 to go, but points would be tough for the Evangels to come by over the final five minutes.
  • The Drovers scored the next eight as two Hall free throws tied it up before Hall got a steal and breakaway layup to fall to push USAO back out to a 65-63 edge with 2:50 remaining.
  • A pair of Boone foul shots with 2:25 left tied it back up at 65, but the Drovers held MACU to just two foul shots the rest of the way as USAO closed out the game with an 8-2 run to pull out the 73-68 road win.

GAME NOTES

• Science & Arts finished the game with a 41.8 percent shooting clip on 28-of-67 from the floor, but the Evangels held the Drovers to a season-worst 1-for-15 (6.7 percent) from the three-point arc. Mid-America Christian struggled offensively as well, finishing just 24-for-64 (37.5 percent) and 5-for-25 (20 percent) from downtown.
• It was a rough day for the Evangels from the foul line, converting just 15-for-28 (53.6 percent) while the Drovers knocked down 16-of-25 (64 percent).
• USAO finished with a slight 46-43 edge on the glass while both teams equally committed 13 turnovers in the contest.
• Senior forward Kendall Scott put together his best game as a member of the Evangels with his second double-double performance of the campaign. Scott finished with a team-leading 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting and pulled down a season-high 15 rebounds to go with a pair of blocked shots and a steal defensively.
• Freshman forward Quentin Woodson also had a solid outing offensively, finishing with 12 points on 4-of-5 from the floor to go with 4-for-8 from the free throw line.
• Omar Boone rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Evangels with 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting and went 3-for-4 from the charity stripe to go with three rebounds and three assists.
• Tony Dorsey recorded his third seven-assist performance in the last four games.
• Science & Arts was led offensively by Stephon Hall with 23 points on 8-of-14 from the field, made the Drovers only three of the game and went 6-for-6 from the line to go with eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
• The Drovers stayed atop of the Sooner Athletic Conference with a 13-2 league mark and an 18-4 record overall while Mid-America Christian fell to 14-10 overall and 7-9 against SAC competition.

UP NEXT

• The road won't get any easier for the Evangels as Mid-America Christian will now prepare for a two-game Texas road trip starting at No. 12 Southwestern Assemblies of God. Tip-off is slated for 7:45 p.m. in Waxahachie, Texas.